This journey perfectly links our two other Norwegian winter journeys, Beyond the Arctic Circle and Around North Cape, to create a thrilling 15-night Arctic adventure of a lifetime, from Bergen to the Russian border via the Lofoten Islands and North Cape.

This Holiday in a nutshell

voyage on the famed Hurtigruten coastal steamer

discover three very different Arctic islands

options for whale-watching

join a Northern Lights excursion

explore snowy landscapes on snowshoes

With soaring, snow-covered jagged peaks reflected in clear blue waters, the views as you approach Norway's islands have to be amongst the most breathtaking anywhere in the world. This journey explores some of the country's most dramatic and beautiful islands north of the Arctic Circle, each with a distinctive character and flavour of its own. With sea voyages on the famous Hurtigruten coastal steamer and the chance to see the Northern Lights and passing whales, this thrilling adventure is complete.

We were on the lookout for tell-tale signs of whales: spray spouting straight up, or large flocks of birds signalling shoals of fish. Suddenly there was movement in the water... and a pod of orca came bounding towards us, their dorsal fins waving, their white markings flashing as they sliced through the water.

Simone Abram, Arctic Encounters

The first is the awe-inspiring island of Austvågøya, one of the largest in the Lofoten archipelago. Here, a narrow coastal strip comprising colourful villages and white-sand beaches surrounds a majestic mountainous massif which features the highest mountain in all of Lofoten, Higravstinden, in the east, and the famous Vågakallen, which looms over the picturesque fishing village of Henningsvær in the south. Next comes the equally enthralling island of Senja, whose landscapes have been likened to ‘a Norway in miniature’, with a rugged shore and coastal pine forests giving way to dramatic mountains that seemingly rise straight out of the sea. Tromsøya, meanwhile, comes as a real contrast as the unique setting for one of the Arctic’s most captivating cities.